Almost half of cancers worldwide are attributable to a certain risk factor, mainly tobacco and alcohol, concludes a gigantic study published on Friday, which emphasizes the importance of preventive measures without turning them into a panacea.
“According to our analysis, 44.4% of cancer deaths worldwide (…) are attributable to a risk factor that has been measured,” advances this study, published in the journal Lancet and carried out in the framework of the global burden of disease.
This vast research program, funded by the Bill Gates Foundation, is of an unprecedented scale, involving several thousand researchers in most countries of the world. Therefore, this work allows a more detailed knowledge of the risk factors according to the regions of the world, although, as a whole, its conclusions confirm what was already known: tobacco is, by far, the main element that has favored cancer ( 33, 9). %), followed by alcohol (7.4%).
Prevention is not enough
Above all, these conclusions advocate giving great importance to prevention in public health, since many of these risk factors are related to behaviors that can be changed or avoided.
However, a good half of cancers are not attributable to a certain risk factor, which shows that prevention is not enough. This, according to the authors, must therefore be accompanied by two other pillars: a sufficiently early diagnosis and effective treatment.
In a separate comment, published in the same issue of Lancettwo epidemiologists supported these conclusions, also believing that the study underscores the importance of prevention.
Source: BFM TV
